Brevard County has seemingly turned into one big game of Mario Kart, and the police ... well, they have the red shells.

There have been at least seven car chases over the past month and not a one of them has ended well for the driver. Wait. Back up. Seven? Seven.

And those are just the ones I actually know about and we've reported on.

For real, though. For as long as I've been writing this column, I've noticed that initiating a chase with police seems to be a relatively popular idea here on the Space Coast. A stupid idea, but a common one, nonetheless. So much so that I'm completely out of Fast and the Furious references ... and there are 10 Fast and the Furious movies ... I ran out a long time ago, actually.

I don't know what it is about Brevard.

But here's the thing: Sheriff Wayne Ivey said this isn't a trend, and it's certainly not anything new. It happens all the time and police agencies know how to deal with it. Lately, however, the chases have become more high profile because they've been related to violent crimes, he said.

Ordinarily, though, it's unruly kids, he said.

"Without question, though, a large amount of pursuits that take place today are the result of juveniles who steal vehicles to use in the commission of other crimes and then try to elude law enforcement as they have little fear of the consequences since our juvenile justice system does nothing to hold them accountable," said Ivey.

Still, it's happening, and boy oh boy has this month been an active one.

Let's review:

1. April 5: In Port St. John, a stolen car was chased down U.S. 1. The car was spotted speeding and that's when police realized it was jacked from a person in Titusville. Police chased the car until the man and a teen had to flee on foot. It turns out they weren't Olympic track athletes, so they were caught. There wasn't an arrest and police didn't release their names. We don't know why.

2. April 6: A chase happened in Melbourne after police stumbled upon a a guy who was wanted for his alleged involvement in a shooting. He, of course, fled police and boom, car chase No. 2 for the month. The guy flew through a residential neighborhood and down Babcock Street at 80 mph. They nabbed speed racer and charged him with like a million different things.

3. April 18: A Texas man drove down I-95 south between Titusville and Port St. John the WRONG WAY for several miles — while intoxicated — before trying to outrun the cops. If you didn't believe in miracles before, you should now because, woah. How did no one get killed? Deputies ended up finding the guy parked, but when they approached, he fled and still decided to go ... the wrong way ... down I-95. Police ended up stopping him, and pulled him at gunpoint from the car. He indicated it was all the Jägermeister's fault.

4. April 24: Now here's a weird one out of Melbourne. My awesome colleague Eric Rogers sums this one up perfectly: The chase, which happened near U.S. 1 and Nasa Boulevard, "began, ended, began again, and nearly wrecked a dump truck, ended with an assault-by-garage-door, a Tasering through said garage door, and the intoxicated suspect resisting arrest in the fetal position." Because normal.

5. April 28: Here's another crazy one. How about the guy who led police on such a serious chase in a stolen Jaguar that the cop ended up on two wheels trying to stop him. It happened on University Boulevard and then on to south U.S. 1 in Melbourne. The deputy had to use a special maneuver to stop the car after stop sticks didn't pan out. But then the crazy person driving tried to force the deputy off the road and nearly flipped the cop car. Two were apprehended after it was all said and done.

6. May 2: Another chase. Another stolen vehicle. Man, this storyline is getting old. Yesterday, a man led police on a brief chase near Lipscomb Street in Melbourne in a Ford F-150 truck police said was stolen from Palm Bay. Same old, same old with this guy ... except for after they used the tire-deflating device, he ended up losing control and crashing into a house. There were two people who were in the house. Neither were injured, but I dare say they're both very annoyed. The house has serious damage now.

7. And lastly, the one from today: No jokes about this one. A man ended up shot by deputies, and is in serious condition, after leading them on a two-county chase down I-95 from Mims to SR 528 and into Orange County. Police were responding to a call where a woman said she feared her ex-boyfriend was going to show up and violence would ensue. Deputies didn't find anyone. She called again hours later. No one to be found. She called again at almost 5 a.m. when she said he was banging on her windows. She was hiding in a closet. Deputies got there, and the guy ended up charging at them with his car. A shot was fired and hit the man, but he fled. Police eventually stopped him with a PIT maneuver on 528, which caused the car to spin out and crash into trees.

About BDB:

Boiled Down Brevard is an irreverent daily column that puts a quirky spin on today's news. We "boil" it all down. To get BDB daily, download the Florida Today app and allow notifications. We'll send you an alert every evening.